Stay With You
by sweet blossom89
Summary: A moonlit reflection that changes everything. Is it really that complicated? Or were they just blind? [Noze]


_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot of the story!**_

* * *

**It was a beautiful night.** Stars were spread around the sky and there was full moon illuminating everything in its path. It would have been perfect, however, if Jennifer Moseley could figure out what was wrong with her. She was sitting on the railing of her balcony, just staring up at the stars, trying to understand why she had been avoiding Ned Bigby, her best friend, for the last two weeks.

Two weeks ago, Suzie had arrived unexpectedly to town to surprise Ned on his seventeenth birthday. Ned had forgotten about everything else and spent most of the day with her, walking around town. He didn't even remember to go over to Moze's house to eat the cake she baked every year for him. That night, something inside her had broken. And the next day, she had tried her hardest to avoid him completely. Even when she learned via Cookie that Ned hadn't meant to forget about their special celebration. But deep inside of her, Moze knew that this wasn't why she was avoiding Ned.

Although she was hurt, the truth was that she was jealous. Or, that was what Cookie had told her and she refused to admit.

"_Me, jealous?" she had responded then. "Pff, why should I be jealous of Ned's and Suzie's relationship?" _

"_Because you are in love with Ned..."Cookie had just shook his head and said simply as if it was the most obvious thing in the universe. _

She had just remained quiet.

_Could it be that she had really fallen in love with him_? She asked herself now.

_No_, she responded her own question. Ned and her were only friends, and had been since the first grade. They were like brother and sister, she reassured herself. It was just like the relationship she had with Cookie.

_No it wasn't, _a little voice at the back of her head told her. Cookie couldn't finish her sentences as Ned could, as much as he wanted to. Cookie didn't make her feel faint at the only sound of his voice. And Cookie certainly couldn't make her feel as if the sun had just broken out of the clouds on a rainy day.

_Could it be that she had just fallen in love with him...and just not noticed it? _She had to admit that it had been a long time she had really seen Ned as only a friend. Over the years she had been entertaining new thoughts about Ned that a best friend really shouldn't think. She many times found herself thinking about him in a different way. In a way she imagined a girlfriend would think about her boyfriend.

_Yes_, she admitted. A great pressure seemed to lift from her heart as she finally admitted that she had fallen in love with Ned. How couldn't she have not noticed, she didn't know. But Moze guessed it was just a natural transition and she had not seen it. And she certainly hoped that he hadn't either.

_But how could she have let this happen? How could she act as if everything was normal between them ever again? Wasn't it enough that she had been avoiding him for the past two weeks? _

_We did this all the time_, she reflected, as she gazed at the stars and tried to look for the different constellations. But that had been before Ned and Suzie started dating. He had loved to lie down beside her and stargaze, and just talk about whatever came into mind. But now, he spent most of his nights on the phone with Suzie, and hadn't done this since the ninth grade.

Silent tears started flowing down her face as she felt the beginnings of a heart break. Unintended as it was, Ned had broken her heart. Moze knew that it was impossible for them to be together. After all, he and Suzie had been dating since the eighth grade, two years ago. And nothing seemed to break them up, even if they lived in different cities.

_How was she __ever__ going to ever get over this? _She guessed she would have to avoid him for the rest of her life...or at least until she figured out a way to get over him. And she had to do it quickly.

* * *

Ned was walking home after hanging out with Cookie the whole afternoon. It had been strange to say at the least. He had been distracted the whole afternoon thinking about Moze's avoidance, until Cookie had told him he would dye his hair pink to get him to pay attention. It was then when he had told Cookie his problem, and he had exposed a crazy theory. _Pft, He doubted what Cookie had said was true. _Well, at least, he had gotten things straightened out with Suzie. All that was left was trying to make Moze talk to him. Look at him at the least. Ned had noticed lately, especially in the last two weeks that whenever she would look at him, she would blush slightly and look away rapidly. So she stopped looking at him. And she had definitely been ignoring, Why? He didn't quite understand that.

He continued to walk down the street thinking of plan which would allow him to trap Moze into Gordy's closet so that he could 'force' her to tell him the truth. It was a nice night and he stared up to the skies, he was surprised to see something he hadn't seen since he was in ninth grade. Moze was sitting on her balcony, stargazing as they had done so many times together. He walked slowly to stand under her, and his heart constricted as he noticed that she was crying.

"Moze?" he called softly.

She turned down to face him, as a sob racked her body. "Ned," she answered softly. Moze turned her face away from him; she didn't want him to see her cry. She never cried. And now, she couldn't believe that she was crying about him. Ned, however, did not hesitate and climbed up the vines that covered the side of her house as he had done so many times before, and stood in front of her.

As more tears slipped over her face, Ned became even more confused. Moze never cried—at least he hadn't seen her cry in a very long time—and he couldn't understand the reason of her tears. _Did she suspect something? Had he done something to upset her?_ He asked himself. _Could he already have hurt even if he hadn't said anything yet?_ Thoughts reeled through his mind, as he tried to soothe her. But he couldn't do anything else but place his arms around her and try to console her.

"Everything will be okay Moze, don't worry," he whispered into her ear.

"No, it won't" she responded softly. _How could Moze explain that he was the cause of her tears?_ _How could she explain to him that things would never be the same okay because she had fallen for him? _

Moze buried her face into his shoulder and hung herself strongly to him, allowing her emotions to rule over her actions for once, something she hadn't done in years, and just let the tears continue flowing quietly, wetting his t-shirt. There was no other person in the world that could make her feel this way, but she couldn't risk it. She did not want to get hurt, or even worse, ruin their friendship over something that was so stupid.

_Did Ned even know what he was doing to her? _

The last few years had been crazy; Ned had to admit as he held Moze close to his chest. He had never imagined that _this_ would happen. If you had told Ned two years ago that he would fall for his best friend, he would look at you strangely and told you were crazy. And, of course, argued that Moze was just his best friend and that he liked Suzie. But things hadn't been quite the same since that kiss in the eighth grade. Even if he wouldn't admit it then, it was the best thing that had ever happened to him, and that second kiss had just confirmed it. It was then when he remembered the lunch lady's prediction, but he told himself that it couldn't be true. Over time he let the issue go to the back of his mind, only remembering it when subtle signs of it were present in his dreams.

Cookie, however, knew better. He had observed his two best friends closely over the past years, and could notice that there was something different between them. But he couldn't give in to Cookie's badgering then. Not even when he pointed out that he was jealous of Jock's attention toward her, or when he pointed out that Ned had just described Jennifer as his perfect girl.

Ned stroked her hair softly, as he looked up at the full moon that was bathing them in a celestial light. He never understood why things were so complicated. Out of all the people in the world, this had to happen to him He just had to go and develop a non-platonic affection for his best friend.

Softly, the trembling form in his arms disentangled from his strong embrace, and Ned was afraid Moze would just act as if nothing had happened and go back to avoiding him, like she had when they had kissed. Although he had to admit he had acted like that too. But she kept her arms around his neck. Moze stared up to the moon too, admiring it, and Ned wondered if it really had been so long ago that they had done this.

"Isn't it beautiful?" she whispered to Ned as to not break the comfortable silence between them.

But Ned was no longer looking at the moon. He had placed his hands on either side of her on the railing, and was struck to see how just beautiful Moze was. Her dark hair was shining because of the moonlight, which bathed her and made her look like an angel in Ned's opinion. There were still some tear tracks in her face, and some tears still clung to her eyelashes, but he didn't care. It just reminded him that she too was sensitive, and vulnerable, but she tried her hardest to appear strong for Ned and Cookie. This just made him remember why he loved her so much.

_Yes, he loved her_, he realized suddenly.

"You know you can tell me anything, right?" Ned told her looking into her eyes.

She nodded slightly, realizing that they were so close that their noses were touching. "It's just so complicated," she answered. "But I'm okay now," she whispered averting his eyes so that he couldn't see that he was lying to him.

Ned sighed slightly. He knew that Moze was blatantly lying to him. _Why did she have to be so difficult?_

"Jennifer," he told her, trying to be serious. "You never cry. What is wrong with you?" He asked, lifting her chin so that she was looking directly into his blue eyes.

"I—I," Ned could recognize fear in her eyes, and some other emotion that he just couldn't place. "I can't tell you..." she said finally, looking down at their feet.

Ned placed his hand on her cheek, erasing with his thumb the last visible tracks of her tears. But this would be imprinted on his memory forever. Moze had showed that she able to trust him again—something she hadn't done, not really, since he had started dating Suzie—and that she was indeed vulnerable. Ned was just glad she had let him see this. As paradoxical as it seemed, seeing Moze cry was one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen, and all he wanted to do for the rest of his life, was protect her from all evil. He had finally able to break through her strong exterior and uncover the real Moze again, as only he could. He would show her that there was nothing to be afraid of, he would protect her, and Ned would do anything he could to make her happy.

Moze smiled slightly as Ned stroked her cheek slowly, and she knew that she could not pretend anymore, not with him. But she couldn't tell him either.

Ned just closed his eyes and understood this was their time. He just hoped Moze would be able to understand why he needed to do this He opened his eyes once more to stare into her brown ones, asking a silent question. She responded with another small smile, and he just knew it. He leaned down slowly and finally placed his lips over hers.

At the beginning, Moze didn't know how to react. It was just like that unexpected as the kiss at the Around the World dance back in Middle School. Her mind was screaming at her to pull away, that he didn't mean to kiss her, not this way, just like it had been the last time. Her heart however, clung to the hope that Ned indeed wanted to kiss her. And so, just as Ned was going to pull away, she responded.

It was an amazing kiss. Neither of them had experienced nothing like it. They melted into each other's arms and let go, until finally, it was just them in their own world. It was not long, however, before alarms started going on in Moze's head.

She pulled away abruptly, leaving Ned confused. "What's wrong, Moze?" he asked her, still keeping her wrapped up in his arms.

"You have a girlfriend!" she responded, pulling away from his embrace and walking to the other side of the balcony. She avoided his gaze as her eyes got teary again. _How could he be so close and still not have him? _

Ned just rolled his eyes in her direction. "This is what you get when you avoid me for two weeks." He told her calmly. "I broke up with Suzie two weeks ago."

"She argued back. "But—What? You broke up with Suzie?" She asked softly.

"Yes I did. Things were not working between us—her living six hours away and everything." He responded, waiting to see her reaction. But she just continued to look up to the skies.

"But she's perfect!" Moze exclaimed. "You guys can work things out. Please, just don't... do this to me."

"Moze, I realized that I loved somebody else, that's why I broke up with her. I couldn't lie to Suzie that way." She heard Ned explain. She lowered her eyes rapidly and noticed that he was standing close to her again, looking directly into her eyes as if to read her emotions. But he looked hopeless. "Besides, I don't _need_ perfect, I don't even _want_ perfect. What I want is...you."

She gasped ever so softly, as he continued. "I— I," He gulped. "I love you Moze. I have for a long time but just hadn't admitted it to myself." He confessed finally. He just hoped Cookie was right for once.

Moze couldn't believe her ears, and the only word that could escape her lips was a soft "Why?"

"Why do I love you?" Ned asked, chuckling slightly. _At least she hasn't rejected me... yet,_ he told himself "I think the best question here is, how can I _not_ love you?"

Moze blushed and lowered her gaze to the ground, but she couldn't help but smile. "Then, why do you, really?" She asked again, stepping closer to him.

He lifted her chin so that he could stare into her beautiful brown eyes. "You see Moze; you have always been here for me, through thick and thin. Anytime I needed you, you were here for me. And you were always smiling. I love the way that even in the toughest situations, you still had that beautiful smile on your face. You were always strong, and never wanted to admit that you too felt sad, or disappointed, many times even hurt. I love the way your eyes light up when you laugh. I love the way you care about others' feelings before your own. I love you because even if I have known you for most of my life, you never cease to amaze me. I love you because you are different than the rest, because you are not afraid to be authentic, because you don't even think twice about making a sacrifice for the ones you care for. I love you because you are the person you are. _Don't you see?_ Nobody in this world can be as wonderful as you are."

Moze blushed again and was grateful that he couldn't see her face in the darkness. She placed her arms softly around his neck and said "I love you too Ned,"

"I know that," he responded laughing softly, a great sense of relief coming over him. "Well, you just confirmed it I guess."

"But how..."

"Cookie told me."

"Cookie? I'm going to kill him! How come he figured it out before I did?"

Both of them laughed again. "Well I guess it is true then. Love _is_ blind. But I wouldn't have had the guts to tell you if it wasn't for all his badgering."

"Well, then, I'll be sure to thank him next time I see him," she relented, placing their foreheads together.

"Yeah," Ned mumbled, closing the remaining space between them and joining their lips once more.

"Ned?" She asked after they had pulled away. "Please don't leave me alone, never..."

"Don't worry," he said placing a soft kiss on her forehead. "I will stay with you forever."


End file.
